[Economist James] Shikwati: Such (good) intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.

SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?

Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. ""

[...]

more in the same vein by Der Spiegel:
http://tinyurl.com/b8xh8

[ 08 July 2005: Message edited by: Geneva ]

This is causing sidescroll on TAT, for some reason.

It reinforces the gap already there, reinforces the idea that colonialism was better for ordinary people (a strong feeling in Melanesia and surely in parts of Africa), and defuses the slight trends toward people making their governments responsible. It's not really like "charity" or popular initiatives at home, because aid-donating people are ineradicably foreign in Africa.